Chainlink has introduced a new integration framework that allows financial institutions to connect to the Swift blockchain ledger while maintaining complete control over their transaction-signing keys. The Chainlink Swift integration utilizes the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) to coordinate workflows between banks’ internal systems and Swift’s distributed ledger infrastructure.
Self-Signature and Transaction Security
Launched on September 28, the system is designed around the principle of self-signature, ensuring that financial institutions retain exclusive authority over transaction approvals. While CRE facilitates the necessary processes for reading and writing to Swift’s blockchain ledger, the private signing keys never leave the banks.
With this approach, the established process for transaction authorization remains unchanged. The integration enables direct access to tokenized payments without delegating critical signing rights to any third-party platforms. CRE functions as a secure workflow layer, seamlessly connecting banks’ internal architectures to Swift’s ledger, efficiently managing data and smart contract operations while preserving each institution’s independent signature protocols.
This operating model also applies to tokenized deposit ledgers, where deposits stay in their original institution’s ledger, and Swift handles payment commitments through blockchain-based infrastructure. Settlement continues to rely on traditional systems such as RTGS and correspondent banking, or any process agreed upon by the participating parties.
Institutional Control and Swift’s Role
Financial institutions maintain strict control over their transaction authorization mechanisms under this integration. Banks do not cede their private keys, nor are they required to alter internal governance procedures. Instead, Swift remains responsible for running its own ledger, while Chainlink serves only as the connecting layer through CRE—never gaining access to signing credentials.
Chainlink Labs CEO Sergey Nazarov highlighted that the company’s partnership supports Swift’s efforts as more banks explore tokenized deposits and ledger systems. However, neither Chainlink nor Swift disclosed a specific timeline or identified which banks will begin piloting the integration.
Sergey Nazarov, CEO of Chainlink Labs, noted that the collaboration supports traditional financial institutions as they move toward adopting tokenized deposits and blockchain-based accounting, stating the integration keeps authorization control firmly with the banks.
Swift’s ledger is being positioned as an around-the-clock platform for cross-border payments using commercial bank deposit tokens. Through the Chainlink Swift integration, bank-issued tokens can interoperate with Swift’s coordination layer while remaining anchored within the respective banks’ systems—meaning the underlying funds continue to sit on the commercial banks’ balance sheets even as payment instructions are processed.
Swift stresses that the new ledger is not a replacement for its existing messaging network, but rather a coordination platform for pre-processing payment actions before they move through established banking infrastructure.
The first iteration of this ledger uses an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible architecture and is built on Hyperledger Besu.
Initial Bank Pilots and Market Adoption
In July, Swift announced that 17 banks across six continents, including ANZ, BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, DBS, HSBC, Standard Chartered, UBS, UOB, and Wells Fargo, were preparing for initial live transactions with tokenized deposits. These pilot schemes, designed with input from over 40 institutions, aim to test payment processing outside standard working hours and settlements through existing mechanisms.
HSBC revealed its plan to use tokenized deposit services through the shared Swift platform. Standard Chartered, UBS, and UOB also described their participation as opportunities to explore tokenized payments, address interoperability, and achieve seamless, continuous money movement.
For participating institutions, the Chainlink Swift integration offers a way to leverage blockchain ledger technology within their existing technology stacks, without requiring full migration to a blockchain system. The integration ensures that banks retain complete control over transaction approvals, using CRE to coordinate activity between the institutions and Swift’s ledger.
In 2026, Swift moved beyond the prototype stage and started implementing the initiative, with the first group of banks conducting real-world tokenized deposit transactions as part of a phased rollout. Planned use cases span corporate treasury management, programmable payment flows, foreign exchange settlements, and securities-related cash transactions. Swift expects to expand the platform’s functions in subsequent phases.
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The solution for institutional participants allows direct ledger access, using Chainlink Runtime Environment to manage workflows, while banks always retain full transaction approval authority.
